Music poll: How do you get your music? CD? iTunes? Napster?

(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)

Do you buy CDs, LPs, MP3s, iTunes, or 8 track cartridges?

If so, do you buy them from Amazon or other online retailer, brick and mortar chain store, or local "record" shop?

Do you regularly buy used CDs or LPs? And rarely buy new CDs or LPs?

Do you subscribe to a subscription service, if so, which one? Rhapsody, Yahoo, Napster, etc?

If you really like a tune you heard from a subscription service do you buy it? Do you buy individual tracks or complete albums?

Or do you get your tunes from a P2P like Morpheus or Blubster?

What about DRM, do you care?

What percentage of your physical music collection did you get for free (ripped CDs, gifts, etc)?

Is sound quality a factor, would you pay more for higher quality downloads or subscriptions?

Do you buy CDs, burn 'em, and them sell them?

How do you discover new music? Radio, friends, online, record stores?

What have I left out?

[chrestme]

I try to buy CDs (sorry, no LPs for me - just not my generation) as opposed to downloading MP3s, especially considering I can get used albums (with no DRM as well, including album art and higher quality audio) cheaper than iTunes or a brick and mortar store. I would like to support a local record store, but I live in the burbs and it's honestly hard to find a non-big box store which are typically hit or miss for anything other than mainstream.

I'll usually only buy an album and not individual songs as I believe that a good artist should be able to make a cohesive album, and not just rely on a hit single to sell the other 10-12 on the disc.

I'd say about 15% of my physical music was free to me, mostly gifts, hardly any burned CD-Rs.

I don't have a subscription download service, but I do have XM radio, which I think is good for world news, talk, and jazz, but unfortunately the sound quality is just really poor and disappointing, especially over the tuner's built in FM transmitter. (It's better at home on my receiver through a good mini-to-RCA cable) The channel playlists could also use some more indie content (IMHO).

My favorite method for discovering new music is pandora.com, which has pretty much killed terrestrial radio for me (take that, video). Now I can just type in an artist, or song and instantly be introduced to artists I've never heard of before. It's not a perfect service, but it's good enough for me, and I've definitely gone looking for albums based on what I heard on Pandora. (I know it's not a perfect service, but it's good enough for me.)

Sound quality is important to me, though my ears were only recently opened (when I finally plugged a TosLink into my receiver for the first time and realized what I was missing). I think I would pay for downloads if I could get them in a lossless, or at least much higher-quality format. It would help satisfy my urge for instant gratification, and might get me to buy more music. I ripped my entire CD collection in lossless format, and realized I could only get about 9 or 10 albums onto my (4Gb) iPod, so now I'll either have to live with those 10 albums and rotate through when I want to listen to something else, re-rip the CDs into a lower-quality format and have 2 copies of each on my hard drive (1 for playback on home stereo, and 1 for iPod) or get a much bigger iPod. (I'm leaning towards door #3, 32Gb iPod touch anyone?)

[mgason]

Most of my music is on physical media.
My girlfriend and I have ripped all of our Cd's, which amounts to about 35gig of music. Not sure how many Cd's that is.
My girlfriend regularly buys individual songs on Itunes.
I never do.

We still regularly buy Cd's at brick and mortar stores. Often this is more the spur of the moment purchases.
If its harder to get we will order online from Amazon.
We both like to have a disc and artwork, just seems more dependable. Computer folk always tell us backup, no better backup than the real CD!

Burned Cd's from others would represent about half of one percent of our Cd's.
if someone burns us a copy of something or a sampler we will probably buy the cd at some point. I can think of several artists by whom we now own multiple Cd's, that we discovered by a friend giving us a few tracks.

We also own about 700 vinyl albums between us. Mostly from the 70's to early 90's. We still buy Vinyl, usually old stuff, usually used. We recently got a USB turntable (her requested christmas present actually) to start putting the Vinyl on the computer too.

Sound Quality is important, we accept a certain loss for the convenience of listening on an Ipod. We do run the computer through the Stereo, but f we really want to listen (as opposed to having music on while doing other things) we will play a CD with tosslink connection, or Record. (We have 2 turntables and a mixer connected to the stereo)

Dislike DRM
find out about music from friends, music stores (love electric foetus), radio and online.
Do not subscribe to any music service.

[froasier]

You could have just hooked up your existing turntable(s) through the mixer to the line-in on the computer...

[aquariumdrinker]

I listen to the majority of my music at work on my computer, so most of the stuff I get in some sort of mp3 format and usually as high a quality as I can find. I use emusic, amazon, and the occasional bit torrent for bootlegs and harder to find stuff.

As far as physical media goes, I sold all my cds when I bought my firs Ipod (stupid me...had some great ones). Now I realize how much sound quality means to me, so I am rebuilding slowly but surely. I just got into vinyl last year, and it is my preferred format. I like cds about as much too. I now try to buy cds and import them in lossless format.

The places I discover new music is usually through music blogs. Sometimes pitchfork. Sometimes the record store. Sometimes friends.

[john55440]

100% of my current music is on CDs. I buy them on Amazon.com

In the future, I will consider a music subscription service, to discover new-to-me music.

I have some old LPs and tapes, but don't play them.

[trailwanderer]

I only buy CD's and download lossless files(no MP3's) of live shows from either the artist websites or bit torrent sites. Sound quality is everything to me. I listen to the majority of my music on my home system...old Marantz receiver with a killer pair of Klipsch speakers. I also listen in my truck quite often. I used to buy the majority of my discs from Tower Records but since they have closed, I like to go to the used shops like Streetlight Records or Rasputin. I also purchase many discs from Amazon. I recently backed up my CD collection to an external hard drive in lossless format...approx. 1 Terabyte worth of music. I keep all my CD's as the original source. I own no MP3's due to the inferior sound quality....definitely a huge loss in quality compared to discs or lossless files when played on a good sound system. I don't go after singles or individual songs. I like to listen to the complete album, there are so many gems that are not mainstream. Thanks for excellent blog.

[moretroops]

I buy music from just about every source you list -- mp3 (beatport, amazon and itunes), cd (amazon and dusty groove), and vinyl (indep. record stores and ebay), and P2Pr. Everything I own is ripped, eventually, into a digital file, always lossless for maximum sound quality. This has necessitated buying ever-larger ipods to hold the massive (now 100 gigs) amount of data. Worth it though. I hook the ipod up to my stereo via dedicated dock, and control it with a great remote (with the ipod screen on the remote!). Works quite well.

I learn about new music through research and online reviews. I'm the guy who advises friends what to buy. I treat it as a hobby.

[ematcion]

Hmmm....good topic.

Almost all of my music purchases are on CD. Used CDs at that....going back to when CD first became available. Being a CD collector, the older the better. Since my local used music store is exactly a treasure trove of such CDs, I generally shop online from the likes of ebay and Yahoo Auction. As for new CDs, I have a subsription at yourmusic.com so that I can pick up new CDs for $6.99 + shipping. Otherwise, I rarely buy any new music since almost none of it appeal to me.

I also purchase new SACDs. Given that this particular format never caught fire at the local brick-and-mortar stores, I buy regularly from online sources. Being an owner of over 400 SACDs (with less than 10 of them being classical titles), no title is too remotely located to purchase. Obviously, sound quality is paramount, which is why my inventory of SACDs rival my inventory of CDs in quantity.

Have also purchased pre-recorded MiniDiscs from online sources. No cassette purchases lately given I already have about 300 pre-recorded cassettes. No recent LP purchases either, although I am about to reconnect my turntable to my integrated amp.

Just purchased Sony Walkman MP3 player....however this is more for used as portable/car music source. No intention of purchasing any music downloads. Otherwise, I have plenty of CD/cassette for my portable CD players (4) and Walkman cassette player.

[froasier]

If quality is so important, how can you stand listening to cassettes?? lol ...and what are the MiniDiscs for?

[4schler]

All of my music on my computer/iPod is from CDs, which I mostly buy used from local record stores, but when I buy new CDs, those are usually from bigger chain entertainment stores like Bestbuy or Hasting's. I keep most CDs I buy, unless I decide I really I don't care for them and then I'll sell them back. I also listen to music I haven't bought in CD form on Rhapsody, and tend to discover new music through that, Last.fm suggestions, and reading various music magazines. As for DRM, I could care less so long as I can play my tunes on any device without hassle, but for that to be possible I tend to lean away from the DRM mess when possible.

[froasier]

"so long as I can play my tunes on any device without hassle"
That's exactly what DRM prevents you from doing--it appears that "I could care less" was a less than true statement.

[brianooomac]

I buy mainly LPs for one reason I love them but I have been known to buy a few CDs here and there I buy LPs because all the music I like is on LPs and and I like the album art. I dont personally buy online because I don't like to quality of the music and I like to have Physical Media.

[bullgtor]

I have not bought a song online or anywhere since the industry managed to shut down Allofmp3.com. (My credit card company investigated them at my request and gave me a report that they were legitmate before I purchased any music.)

[froasier]

While that site was legal where it was run (Russia), I doubt any money from it went to the artists or anything. You may as well have been downloading for free. See Wikipedia.

[mjd420nova]

I do buy a CD from time to time but my genre of interest lies in the oldies of the 60's. I have an extensive collection of LP's. 45's, reel to reel and cassettes that I have transposed to digital .WAV formats. I have sampled the many compression formats and not been satisfied with the reproduction they produce. Most of the music I acquire over the web is streamed by various broadcast stations webs sites or web sites such as VH1. I might have to listen to a couple other songs before I find one I don't have and am interested in recording. This is actually simple with the software provided by a good quality sound card. True they may take up much more room (around 10 MB per minute) but can be played on any CD/DVD player and are real representations of the full spectrum as recorded in the studio or live concert venues.

[froasier]

You do realize streaming media is compressed to pretty low quality ("sampling the many compression formats" should have easily yielded better) and that recording them in .WAV format will not improve the quality... Also I think you may have missed the higher quality forms of lossy compression, such as LAME-encoded VBR MP3, AAC, and OGG, which at reasonably high bitrates should be quite satisfactory. Regardless, lossless compression formats like FLAC retain the same exact quality of .WAV, with smaller file sizes, and can be converted back to standard CD format similarly without loss. Lastly, not that this really matters, but the "full spectrum" that was recorded in the studio or concert venue is usually greater and must be downsampled to CD quality once it is mixed and mastered.

[rosie82]

Steve,
Where do you buy LPs these days?
I get my music by buying CDs, burning a copy to play, so I save the original. Also, I rip them to the computer, and then transfer them onto my SanDisk Sansa Clip.

[Mr_Sasquatch]

I illegally download most new music. I'll listen to it for a week or two and if I like it then I'll buy the CD. If not, I delete the files.

I'd love to get a subscription service. But it would have to be inexpensive; not more than $15 per month.

[froasier]

There are sites like Last.FM, Pandora, and literally thousands of more traditional internet radio stations on which you can hear new tracks for free.

[djFLWB]

I've got several thousand CDs not to mention vinyl and cassettes and my mom's has promised to bequeath to me her 45's and 78's. (Can't wait to get hold of those Spike Jones records)

Needless to say I'm obsessive about music. I've got a terrabyte of MP3s in 320kbps (CDex ripped at insane) from my collection so far and that's the CDs. (I started ripping tracks back when an 80gig harddrive was HUGE and I really don't want to go back and rip them all to .wav, that and the fact that .wav soen't offer the id tagging.) The tapes and vinyl will take a lot more time considering you really need to record them in analog time.

Emusic is an inexpensive site for downloading but the tracks are ripped vbr and some of the sound quality can be sketchy at best. But if you spend a little time using programs like Audacity you can tweak them to sound a bit better (increase the level add a little bass). They've got the old Stax catalog, Rykodisc, Sun Records and a ton of indie artists and if you're into "crate digging" there's a ton to find.

I also use yourmusic.com but their customer service has dropped off over the past five months. Shipments are sporadic and a few have never shown up which leads to wrangling with them to get them to "re-ship".

I spend less time at big box stores than I used to and the used cd stores seem to have mysteriously disappeared in my area. I used to spend hours on Saturdays at All Books and Records, man I miss them).

I've been fishing around at Amazon.com lately 256kbps downloads drm free. But the site navigation leaves alot to be desired. Screw iTunes 196kbps and a limited selection of drm free. No DRM for this puppy.

For music for playing out I use Traxsource, Beatport and Stompy. High quality downloads at a price for lossless .wav format.

"Audiophiles" have always made me laugh. Remember the green markers for cds so you wouldn't lose "laser tracking" from "random laser bounce" and those gimmicky plastic rings to "stabilize" your cds during playback? Get real folks, just like installing those ball bearing feet stabilizers for your turntable to dampen vibration. Really what are you doing spinning your platters on a clothes washer on spin? I don't need to hear frequencies that only a dog can hear (in fact I can't) but I do appreciate some depth to the sound, so CD's will always rule over downloads and SACDs over cds (at least until the recording industry comes up with the be all end all media).

Yeah vinyl still has a warmth that isn't present on digital but only if you can get past the snap crackle and pop. But who really wants to wear "lint free" cotton gloves every time you handle an album?

I can't wait until I can get music piped directly to my brain with holographic videos and cover art to boot. (with secret hidden tracks only accessible through a sugar rush provided by your track sponser Pepsi.)

[Scott Gardener]

I buy from iTunes and on CD. I was a Napster subscriber for over two years, but I cancelled my subscription just yesterday after realizing that I had not used it in months. I've also got archives on cassette, waiting to be copied or replaced with digital equivalents with a better shelf life.

I've become an increasing stickler for better bit rates and audio quality. Napster downloads were not quite up to snuff, whereas iTunes does OK. My wife is converting me towards increasing audiophile discrimination.

This past weekend, we dug out some of our old LPs, ones that each of us collected before we ever knew each other. The sound quality was a wakeup call to what we were missing, and it was perhaps the death knell of my Napster subscription, though it had a long time coming.

[Scott Gardener]

Additional comments:

I do not use P2P networks, except for Creative Commons or copyright-orphaned material that is long out-of-print. I do not currently have P2P software installed on my laptop; I have it on my desktop for downloading content such as the fan-based "Star Trek: New Voyages" films.

DRM is an annoyance. I will admit that I work around it, burning to CD and then ripping to mp3. The generational sound quality loss isn't much, though I save the original source as well. I favor mp3s over DRM-constrained files largely not for the DRM itself so much as the universality of the mp3 format. My car plays mp3 and wma; my iPod plays mp3 and m4a. My Apple TV plays the later. If I get a Playstation Portable, it will play mp3s, but I'm not sure what else. Every digital music player worth anything plays mp3s; nothing else has that compatability, and thus mp3s are the most viable format for the long haul--love them or hate them. I just keep inching up the bit rate.

Now that I've just discarded all my Napster subscription-tethered tracks, I'd say that 90+% of my new music is bought, the remainder being CD gifts.

[tsarstepan]

I buy my MP3s from iTunes and Amazon. I also buy used cd's from Ebay. I get new cd's from Barnes and Noble (both brick and mortar store as well as online) and Amazon. I've only recently begun to rip the music off of my cd's, (limited by the relatively small hard drive)

I prefer to buy new cd's over used. I only bought from Ebay because the took paypal credit.

I do care about DRM, that's why I now search Amazon first for the MP3 album. If they don't have it, then I consider if the album or single - from iTunes, is worth the hassle of the DRM related restrictions.

Since I listen mostly to my music on my iPod with those sad and ubiquitous earplugs, I am not to picky about the quality. Though, it is another reason why I choose Amazon over iTunes, higher quality downloads.

As for new music? Radio and NPR podcasts. I've been getting a lot of ideas from the radio program, All Songs Considered. Also, browsing through the Amazon download section, I may stumble upon a name of a band that I may have seen a good album review in the Time Out NY; the Village Voice; or the Onion AV Club.

[Mr_Sasquatch]

"All Songs Considered" is a favorite of mine also.

Have you listened to the podcast Sound Opinions", I like it even more.
http://www.soundopinions.org/

[j_richey]

I mainly use iTunes for all of my music, but when I can't find a song off iTunes that I want, I use Limewire to get the song.

[315517]

These days, I mostly download mp3's from emusic.com and listen to them on my iRiver mp3 player. I connect my player to the stereo and in the car. I have a about 500 CD's and have ripped the ones I like onto my computer. When I buy CD's, it's mostly from sellers through Amazon with the occasional impulse buy from Target or some other box store.

We replaced the kids sansa and zen mp3 players with iPods/iTunes so I don't have to always be there to provide tech support.

I also have a lot of LP's and have ripped a few of them, but don't have the right software to filter pops and split out the songs correctly, so I ran out of steam on that one. I still have a turntable connected that I use from time-to-time. I also have a lot of old cassettes and have used my iRiver to copy them to mp3 so I can listen to them and share, etc. Most of the tapes are in bad shape now, so they're just taking up space (lots of nostalgia, though).

I used to use MusicMatch for making mix CD's for friends, but I didn't purchase much music from them (DRM completely sucks!). My copy has started getting wonky and it's kind if a resource hog. I've also worked with WinAmp to rip and burn CD's, but I don't like how their library system works. This leaves me with iTunes. I broke down and loaded my 40G library to iTunes and it reorganized my file structure to be completely by artist, even for 'various' collections so now I can't find anything from the file browser - grrrr. Used to be Artist folder with album sub-folders.

Sound quality-wise, I like music that sounds good, but I'm not especially motivated to pursue the perfect sound - I think it's an unfair means to limit bands that people are willing to listen to (like The Fall).

[aramis7350]

I still own (but rarely play) more than 1000 LP's and maybe 300 cassettes.
Not much of the new music is appealing to me except for the reggae-like stuff by folks like Sean Paul and Wycleff Jean.
I'm not an audiophile; I just accumulated the specific songs that I liked. The result is that I haven't bought anything new recently, either online, from a store or streamed.
I guess I just prefer the old stuff - I have put copies of it on a non-Ipod MP3 player and I listen often to that.